Hi All,

A few days ago, my starter went out in my 2006 Sebring 2.7. I assumed it was the starter because when I tried starting the car, nothing happened. It was like I wasn't trying to start it at all. No noise PERIOD. So, today I had the starter replaced. The car fired up. Later on, I went to start it and nothing. I do hear one little click when I try to start it. After looking through the forum, I came to the conclusion that it’s the relay that I am hearing. The battery is a few weeks old and the light work fine. After a few attempts it started. Turned it off and tried to start it again. This time it didn’t start. After a few more attempts, it started. I got it to start 4 times back to back. I took it for a 20 minute drive, turned the car off and this time I can’t get it to start back up at all. I do hear the relay though. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I will try again to start it in the morning. Digging around in the forum, some people stated they had success after letting the car cool.

Thanks in advance

 

Check the battery leads for corrosion. Corrosion can introduce lots of resistance into the circuit, enough to prevent the flow of the large amount of current that is necessary to start the car. Any joint between the battery and the starter could be the cause.
Another possibility might be the starter itself. It could be that the one you put in there is just bad. Or it could be that the relay is going bad. That's the easiest thing to replace, so consider replacing that.

 

I haven't tried your suggestion yet. Wanted to update. I went to start the car this morning and it fired right up. I noticed that my aftermarket stereo reset as if the battery had been disconnected or something. Is this still a sign of the relay switch? Also, where can I locate this switch in my car? I am assuming its in the fuse box.

Thanks

 

The starter relay is in the power distribution center. That's the fusebox in the engine compartment. (There's another fusebox at the left end of the dash behind a pop-off panel.) There's a legend on the underside of the fusebox cover telling you what's what.

Resetting the stereo would seem to indicate that the battery doesn't have enough power to start the car and maintain voltage to the stereo at the same time. The causes for that could include a weak battery or a starter that's drawing too much current.